Dolls&#39; heads with rotating dolls&#39; eyes



June 4, 1963 D. COHN DOLLS HEADS WITH ROTATING DOLLS EYES Filed Jan. 4, 1960 FIGZ IN V EN TOR. 04 VIP C DI-l/V nite 3,091,894 Patented June 4, 1963 DOLLS HEADS WITH ROTATING DOLLS EYES David Colin, Pound Ridge, N.Y., asslgnor to Model Plastic Corporation, White Plains, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 248 Claims. (Cl. 46-169) This invention relates to dolls heads with rotating dolls eyes. It is particularly directed to dolls heads made by blow molding.

An object of this invention is to provide a blow molded dolls head having integrally formed, rearwardly opening eye sockets with rotary dolls eyes rotatably mounted in the sockets, and said sockets having openings receiving the axles of the rotating eyes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dolls head of the character described in "which a dolls eye receiving shell is embedded in each of the sockets, said shell having openings in which the axles of the dolls eyes are journalled.

Still another object of this invention is to provide dolls eyes made with apparatus and by the process disclosed in my copending application entitled Methods of and Apparatus for Making Dolls Heads With Rotating Dolls Eyes Serial No. 397 filed January 4, 1960.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a strong and durable dolls head with rotating dolls eyes of the character described which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, which shall be smooth and positive in operation and practical and eificient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a dolls head provided with rotating dollss eyes, embodying the invention, with part of the head broken away and with a socket and dolls eye in crosssection;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view of one of the eye sockets and the eye therein;

FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3a--3a of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating a modification;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating another modification;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating still another modification; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a perspective View of the shell of FIG. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, 10 designates a dolls head which may be blow molded by apparatus and with process disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 397, filed simultaneously with this application.

The head 10 may be made of polyethylene or polypropylene or the like material.

Said head has a front face 11 formed with eye openings 12. Extending rearwardly from the front face 11 and surrounding the eye openings 12 are rearwardly open sockets 13.

Said sockets 13 each has an inner concave surface 14 extending to an eye opening 12, and parallel, vertical '2 opposed side surfaces 15, interconnected by part cylindrical top and bottom surfaces 16. The sockets are formed with a pair of horizontally aligned, outward-1y extending openings 17.

Embedded in each socket 13 is an eye receiving and housing shell 20. Each shell 20 has an eye opening 21 registering with an'eye opening 12 in the head.

Each shell has a curved wall 22 contacting concave surface 14; flat side vertical parallel walls 23 contacting surfaces 15 of the sockets and top and bottom part cylindrical walls 24 contacting the surfaces 16 of the socket. Side walls 23 have opposed, horizontally valigned openings 25 aligned with openings 17 in the sockets. Attached to or formed with the shells. aresmall, horizontally aligned tubes 26, registering with holes 25 and received in said socket openings.

Sockets 13 extend beyond the outer edges of shells '20 as at 30 and said portions 30 envelop said edges as at 31, as shown in the drawing (FIG. 3).

Rotatably mounted in each shell is a doll s eye 40. Each eye 40 may have a hemispherical portion 41 of rigid, synthetic plastic. Extending outwardly from said portion 41 is a pair of axles 42 passing through openings 25 and into tubes 26. The :eyes are hence rotatably mounted in the shells. Portions of the eyesv 40 project through the eye openings 12, 21. Said eyes 40 may be provided with eyelashes 45 and with a rearwardly extending lower lug 46 carrying a weight 47, so that the eyes will close as the head is laid back and will open as the head is set up straight.

As stated in said copending application Serial No. 397, the shells are pressed together top and bottom to expand the sides thereof sufiiciently to permit insertion of the doll eye axles. As indicated by the section lines in the drawing the shells are formed of thin metal.

In FIG. 4 there is shown a modification comprising a head 10a having sockets 13a opening inwardly and formed with eye openings 12a. Said sockets 13a have opposed horizontal outwardly extending openings 17a receiving directly the axles 42 of eyes 40.

There are no shells in the sockets 13a. The holes 1711 are blind openings like openings 17 of FIG. 3.

In FIG. 5 there is shown a head 10b with sockets 13b and eye openings 12b similar to the construction of FIG. 3 except that the tubes 26 :are omitted from the shells 20b. The axles 42 of the dolls eyes pass through openings 25b in the shells and into openings 17b in the sockets 1312.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 there is shown a still further modified construction in which the shells are omitted and the openings of the eyes 40 are through openings, and the axles 42 of the eyes pass therethrough.

It will thus be seen that there is provided an apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A dolls head of soft flexible material, said head being formed with eye openings and provided with in-tegral, inwardly extending, rearwardly opening, eye sockets surrounding said eye openings, said sockets being formed with opposed, horizontally aligned axle openings which open toward each other and are spaced from the rear ends of the sockets, an eye shell of thin metal fixed in each socket, and having openings registering with the eye openings and being open rearwardly and also having horizontally aligned opposed openings registering with the opposed axle openings in the sockets, tubes on said shells surrounding each of said opposed shell openings 'which tubes project into the opposed axle openings in said sockets, and rotating dolls eyes in said sockets, hav- "ing axles fixed with respect to said eyes and which pass through said shell opposed openings into said tubes, the axles being of such a length as to be received in said axle openings. 7

2. The combination of claim 1, in which said openings in the sockets are round openings and said tubes are round tubes, in which said axles are rotatably mounted. 3. The combination of claim 1, said shells each having opposed fiat parallel walls.

4. A dolls head of soft flexible resilient material, said head being formed with eye openings :and provided with integral, inwardly extending, rearwardly opening eye sockets comprising inwardly extending annular flanges, said flanges surrounding said eye openings, said flanges being formed with opposed horizontally aligned axle openings which open toward each other and are spaced from the rear ends of the flanges, and rotating dolls eyes in said sockets having horizontally aligned axles fixed with respect to said eyes and rotatably received in said 4 opposed horizontally aligned axle openings, and said flanges being temporarily deformable to permit the dolls eyes to be inserted through the inner open ends of the sockets and the axles to be received into said axle openings, and to permit the flanges, when released of de- .formation to hold the eyes rotatable therein.

5. The combination of claim 4, and further including,

eye shells of thin metal fixed in said sockets, and having openings registering with the eye openings and being open rearwardly and also having horizontally aligned, opposed openings registering with the axle openings in the flanges, said eyes being located in said shells and said eye axles passing through said opposed openings in said shells, and said shells being deformable with the flanges to facilitate insertion of said eyes into said sockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

4. A DOLL''S HEAD OF SOFT FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MATERIAL, SAID HEAD BEING FORMED WITH EYE OPENINGS AND PROVIDED WITH INTEGRAL, INWARDLY EXTENDING, REARWARDLY OPENING EYE SOCKETS COMPRISING INWARDLY EXTENDING ANNULAR FLANGES, SAID FLANGES SURROUNDING SAID EYE OPENINGS, SAID FLANGES BEING FORMED WITH OPPOSED HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED AXLE OPENINGS WHICH OPEN TOWARD EACH OTHER AND ARE SPACED FROM THE REAR ENDS OF THE FLANGES, AND ROTATING DOLL''S EYES IN SAID SOCKETS HAVING HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED AXLES FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID EYES AND ROTATABLY RECEIVED IN SAID OPPOSED HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED AXLE OPENINGS, AND SAID FLANGES BEING TEMPORARILY DEFORMABLE TO PERMIT THE DOLL''S EYES TO BE INSERTED THROUGH THE INNER OPEN ENDS OF THE SOCKETS AND THE AXLES TO BE RECEIVED INTO SAID AXLE OPENINGS, AND TO PERMIT THE FLANGES, WHEN RELEASED OF DEFORMATION TO HOLD THE EYES ROTATABLE THEREIN. 